Happy Thanksgiving! | Cup of Jo

Happy Thanksgiving! If you celebrate, are you cooking anything? My mom is in town, and my dad arrives tomorrow (yes, both my divorced parents!), and we’re also hosting friends, including this party girl. We’re in charge of the turkey, gravy, stuffing, potatoes and cranberry sauce; and our guests are bringing sides and dessert. Hope you have a good one, and here are a few links from around the web…

The travel pants I’m wearing from now on; love the fit.

An easy way to make vegetables sing. You’ll make “the carrotiest carrots you’ll ever taste,” writes Eric Kim. “But as I’ve learned over the year, this same method can also yield the shallotiest shallots, the mushroomiest mushrooms, the green-beaniest green beans.” (NYTimes gift link)

Wildflowers in cities! Makes my heart sing.

Two couples in California discovered they were raising each other’s genetic children. Should they switch their girls? Wow, this story really makes your breath catch. (NYTimes gift link)

Ooooh, what a breathtaking garden.

Love that Catherine Newman put “vaginal estrogen” on her holiday gift guide.

A pink apartment that feels like a hug.

What brings you pleasure? Molly Young says malted milk balls and vanity license plates. Phoebe Ward says running in the cold and not having a palate expander (anymore).

Here are five crazy amazing sales right now:

* Get 50% off almost everything at J.Crew. These pajamas are especially cute.

* Get 40% off with code MADEBETTER at Madewell. Hey, beautiful.

* Nordtrom is having a huge sale. What a great top, and I use this daily.

* Get 40% off at Primary Kids, plus free shipping.

* Get up to 65% off at Dôen. For example, is this the perfect shirt?

Plus, three reader comments:

Says Midge on holiday crafts: “Every year, we cut out snowflakes, then sign and date the back. Grandparents, friends, significant others, whomever is here has made one for the past 16 years. I particularly love the one where someone was too small to use scissors so they drew on the holes (!!!)”

Says Amanda on holiday crafts: “If anyone’s looking for craft-y gift ideas, we love making cards with a fill-in-the-blank questionnaire that the kids then decorate. We’ve made them for grandparents and aunties, and it’s always a hit. For Father’s Day, the card asked, ‘What’s Dad’s favorite thing to do?’ and my son answered, ‘Sit with me.’ It still makes me tear up!”

Says Meghan on 12 gifts for your adoring wife: “My father-in-law just sent an extremely sweet Christmas wish list that included the words ‘Everyone has to recite a poem (from memory preferred).’ I could cry. So, I wanted to share my own non-material Christmas wish list: time and space to read my book, my tiny apartment made cozier by foraged and free decorations, and everyone to shop at the farmers’ market for their feast ingredients.”

(Photo by Christine Han/Stocksy.)

Note: If you buy something through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission or have a sponsored relationship with the brand, at no cost to you. We recommend only products we genuinely like. Thank you so much.